Head of School Search

Dear Campbell Hall Community,

You should have just received an email from Head of School Julian Bull, and we suspect you are feeling much of what we felt when he first shared his retirement news with us: overwhelming gratitude, mingled with the quiet sadness that comes with any goodbye. We write on behalf of the Board of Directors, though in truth we write on behalf of everyone whose life has been shaped over the past twenty-three years by Julian’s leadership and love for the Campbell Hall community.

Under Julian’s direction, a beloved local school became a national model for what education can be when academic rigor and conscience, intellect and spirit, are held together rather than treated as competing priorities. He has led the school’s continued growth through programs grounded in research and innovation, as well as policies designed to nurture the whole child.

Guided by Julian’s clear vision for student well-being, Campbell Hall was among the first schools in the nation to implement a later start time for grades 7–12, translating groundbreaking research on adolescent sleep and learning into practice. He also helped lead the development of Campbell Hall’s nationally recognized CHAI (Campbell Hall Advanced Inquiry) program, an innovative, inquiry-driven curriculum that challenges students to engage in authentic college-level study, cultivate independent and critical thinking, and apply their learning through meaningful, real-world projects.

In addition to the much-anticipated Holiday Center, Julian was at the helm of the construction of the Spielberg Family Arts & Education Center and the revitalization of playgrounds, science labs, classrooms, and communal spaces where our children grow and thrive physically, spiritually, and intellectually. There are accomplishments above and beyond what we can list in one letter, and rest assured, we plan to celebrate them all as we march towards his retirement date.

His deepest legacy cannot be found on any campus map: a community that has learned to ask hard questions kindly, and that has discovered, through recessions, a pandemic, seasons of social unrest, and last year's fires and losses, how to hold on to its mission and one another.

All of us have leaned on Julian’s steadiness — the quiet, prayerful constancy of a leader who keeps the child at the center of every decision and never mistakes excellence for the absence of love. It is no small thing to lead a school for a generation and watch it become, year over year, more fully itself.

As Board Co-Chairs, we have had the privilege Julian generously names — of thinking out loud with him, of being trusted with hard questions, of watching him center every decision on the school’s values and mission. We can tell you that the wisdom and grace he brings when addressing the community in a spiritual capacity, he brings just as fully to the conference table. We will miss him more than we can say.

The Board of Directors does not take its responsibility to identify Campbell Hall's next Head of School lightly, and we will honor Julian's legacy by conducting a thoughtful and thorough search process.

The Board has been preparing for this transition for some time, with the goal of having a new Head of School in place by the summer of 2028. Julian’s two-year notice provides the school with the time to conduct a comprehensive international search while also allowing the selected candidate sufficient time to fulfill commitments to their current school. This timeline will help ensure that Campbell Hall attracts the strongest possible pool of candidates. We intend to conduct this search in accordance with the best practices of NAIS and NAES, and we look forward to sharing additional updates with the community as the process unfolds.

For now, we have the good fortune of two more years with Julian at the helm, benefiting as always from his leadership and guidance. And also two more years to celebrate his legacy and, in time, send him toward his next chapter the way he has sent so many classes of seniors toward theirs: with pride, with love, and with full hearts.

We hope you will join us in doing exactly that.

With love,
Ed Han
Terra Potts
Co-Chairs, Board of Directors

Dear Campbell Hall Community,

Now that we have officially begun construction on the Holiday Center — a project I have dreamed about and worked toward for a decade, and whose completion I look forward to celebrating — I am ready to announce my retirement, effective June 30, 2028.

It has been the honor of my life to lead this remarkable school for the past 23 years. Few people are given the opportunity to do such meaningful work alongside such gifted and generous colleagues for so long. Over these years, the school has grown in reputation locally and nationally while deepening its commitment to its spiritual roots, precisely when the educational world most needs a compelling model of soulful, civil inquiry and rigor. It has been a beautifully collective effort, and we have watched with great pride as many classes of seniors have graduated and gone on to bless their worlds. It is deeply rewarding work, even on the most difficult days.

I am so grateful for the many brilliant board and committee members with whom I have brainstormed; the administrators who have rolled up their sleeves around my conference table; the chaplains I pray with each week; the passionate faculty and staff so committed to engaging students in meaningful work — including those who inspired my two sons; the remarkable parents so focused on raising their children as decent human beings; and above all the students themselves, who make me laugh, beam with pride, and put a spring in my step every day.

I am especially grateful to my wife Katie, without whose steadfast and warm support I could not possibly have done this work. I am also so thankful for Board Co-Chairs Ed Han and Terra Potts, who have been trusted sounding boards and steady guides throughout their tenures and during my discernment of the right time and way to leave this role. The school leadership team will use the recommendations of the CAIS-WASC Visiting Committee to craft a two-year bridge plan that places our post-COVID focus solidly on academic excellence and student engagement, while continuing to anchor the educational experience in Campbell Hall's Episcopal identity and "curriculum of the heart." My successor will inherit a thriving program, a spectacular new building, and strong financial and enrollment numbers, with a school ready for the next chapter in its great story.

I look very much forward to celebrating every moment of the next two years with all of you.

Warmly,
The Rev. Canon Julian Bull
Head of School

A typical Head of School search takes 5-6 months. The goal is to announce the next Head of School selection before the start of the 2027-2028 school year, allowing a thoughtful, intentional transition before the new Head assumes responsibilities in July 2028. 

The Campbell Hall Board of Directors charges the Head of School Search Committee with conducting a thoughtful, thorough process to identify, assess, and ultimately recruit and recommend the best possible candidate for the Board to consider as the next Head of Campbell Hall.

The Campbell Hall Board of Directors has engaged Spencer Stuart as its executive search and leadership advisory firm. Expert advisors Kristine Johnson and Aaron Mieszczanski, who bring extensive experience in independent school leadership searches and transitions, will partner with the Search Committee to ensure a successful process and outcome.

Working closely with the Search Committee, they will gather input from members of our community, finalize the Opportunity Statement, and conduct extensive outreach to the desired candidate pools to identify leaders whose experience, backgrounds, attributes, and characteristics align with Campbell Hall’s aspirations for the next Head of School. The Spencer Stuart team will support the Search Committee through the interview and recruitment process, ensuring that the candidates’ and committee’s need for information, diligence, and confidentiality are met.

Campbell Hall’s Episcopal identity will remain central to the search. The Search Committee will welcome candidates who are ordained Episcopal priests and any other experienced leaders committed to advancing the school’s mission, values, and spiritual life and nurturing its Episcopal traditions.

The Search Committee welcomes your comments and nominations. Please contact the Spencer Stuart team at CampbellHallHOS@spencerstuart.com.